In Stavropol, Security Forces Planted Forbidden Literature on Believers During a Search. A Family Faces Criminal Prosecution

On the morning of February 12, 2020, in Stavropol, law enforcement officers disguised as neighbors came to search the family of 24-year-old Denis and Anna Mashkov. The special events lasted about 6 hours and were accompanied by insults. The head of the family was questioned whether he was an "organizer" of Jehovah's Witnesses.

At 7 o'clock in the morning, when Anna's husband was at work, she heard a strong knock on the door, accompanied by shouts: "We are your neighbors from below, you are flooding us!" An hour later, reluctantly presenting a police ID and a court order to inspect the home, a group of 7 people, including two witnesses, entered the apartment of Anna and Denis. Among the participants in the search activities was an operative of the Center for Countering Extremism (CPE) of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Stavropol Territory, M. Chmyrev, who had previously initiated the initiation of criminal cases against believers in Nevinnomyssk (Stavropol Territory).

During the search, the security forces planted several publications previously included in the federal list of extremist materials, and also seized laptops, phones, electronic storage devices and personal records, including phone passwords.

Law enforcement officers asked Denis questions about his connections with Jehovah's Witnesses, whether he was the organizer and whether he knew other believers.

After the search, the security forces threatened the Mashkovs that "now they will see each other more often."